Etihad Airways appoints new General Manager for Seychelles

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has appointed Ahmed Ershood Al Shehhi as its new General Manager in the Republic of the Seychelles.

Ahmed
replaces Rashed Saif Al Shabi who has taken up the role of General Manager in
Cyprus.

His
key responsibilities will include driving commercial results and further enhancing
the strong relationships with the airline’s travel trade and corporate
customers in Mahé. He will also work closely with international tourism
partners in developing the leisure and business passenger
traffic between the Seychelles and key destinations across Etihad Airways’ fast
growing global network, in the Far East, Asia, Australia, America and Europe.

As
part of Etihad Airways’ alliance with Air Seychelles, Ahmed will also support Air
Seychelles’ service between Mahé and Abu Dhabi, ensuring that passengers travelling
with either airline are provided with a seamless travel experience.

Ahmed
Al Shehhi, an Emirati national, joined Etihad Airways in 2008 under its Graduate
Management Development Program. He initially worked in the airline’s office in
Jakarta, where he gained strong industry experience in sales development, working
closely with key industry partners. He later moved to the marketing department
at head office in Abu Dhabi, where as Regional Marketing Manager, he was
responsible for supporting the development and growth in brand recognition and sales in all six countries across the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), and in Iraq, Iran and Yemen.

Danny
Barranger, Vice President Global Sales, Etihad Airways, said: “Ahmed has
extensive experience working in a commercial environment. He also understands
the leisure market and has excellent contacts with local industry partners,
making him the ideal candidate for this important position.”

Etihad
Airways launched its service between Abu Dhabi and Mahé in the Seychelles in
November 2011, and currently operates three flights a week with a two-class
Airbus A320 aircraft configured to carry 16 guests in Pearl Business, and 120
guests in Coral Economy class.

This,
combined with Air Seychelles’ four flights per week service from Mahé to Abu
Dhabi, provides passengers with a daily service from the Seychelles to the UAE
and beyond on Etihad Airways’ fast growing global network.